(Revised version to comply with the contest rhyme scheme)

Hong Shi is the Chinese God of the Osmanthus, or Fragrant Olive. A variety known as Heaven Scent grew in my uncle's garden.
In his latter years, as age slowed him down, he took the name of Hodmandod upon himself, it being an ancient southern English dialect word for a snail, which - like age itself - is the gardener's enemy.

The Awdl Gynt is a modified Pantygynt.

Because the rhyme scheme is made up of a certain amount of cross rhyme a cycle can be shown graphically as follows with x being unrhymed syllables and rhymed syllables shown as usual with other letters. The metre is iambic throughout.

x x x x x x x a (tetrameter)
x x x a x b (trimeter)
x x x x x x x a (tetrameter)
x a x x x b (trimeter)

x x x x x x x c (tetrameter)
x x x x x x x c (tetrameter)
x x x x x x x c (tetrameter)

x x x c x b (trimeter)

The poem may consist of any number of these cycles. The line spacing between the components of the cycle is optional and can be omitted in the interests of enjambment.

Many thanks to Dick Lee Shia for the striking photograph that accompanies this poem.

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